“I was welcomed into the Life Change Academy. I knew this was something I needed to do first and foremost for myself, then for my kids. This year has flown by so quickly and I have experienced so much restoration in the way I see God, in myself, and in my family. There have been many obstacles I’ve had to face, but choosing to not run away and trust God has been the biggest gift. I can’t imagine having to deal with this without God.”

“I always knew the Lord, but I never really had Him in my heart. I found myself in a dark spot; I lost my house and ended up at the river, sleeping in my truck. I was introduced to drugs and I started using heavily. I was out there for a year when one morning, as I was getting ready to do drugs once again, I felt the Holy Spirit tell me I needed to go to the Visalia Rescue Mission. It had to be the Lord because those weren’t my plans at all.

I’m currently in my third quarter of the Life Change Academy and I can say it’s one of the best programs I’ve ever been in. I used to be embarrassed about my addiction, ashamed of myself and what people might think, but today I can walk around and say that because of Jesus I have been set free and my heart is filled with joy, love, and hope. He took the gray out of my eyes and made me see color.”

“Self-care is a mental thing, It’s not just putting on makeup. The Life Change Academy program wants you healthy; physically, mentally, and spiritually, and they’ll teach you the tools to maintain that.

To wake up in the morning and 1) know you’re safe and 2) to know you’re loved, those are the best things. A lot of people think if they don’t love themselves, then God won’t love them. That’s not true, God is always going to love you and you get to love yourself.

I’m thankful for this program because it taught me how to love myself in a way that I never thought I was capable of loving myself and that’s the most important thing to me. I know God loves me unconditionally, I know the staff loves me, but without me loving myself, who am I fooling? I’m fooling nobody.”

“I started drinking and trying drugs in junior high and high school. At first it was just to fit in, but then it turned into a cover up for pain. I drank on and off for many years.. I was on the road to destruction, almost dead, and since coming to Visalia Rescue Mission I am a new creation in Christ. I am now going on 7 years of sobriety and have been working at Simply Chic Boutique for almost 4 years. Life change is possible through Jesus Christ. There’s hope and I learned that here at the mission.”

“I was in and out of jail and in prison a few times. My last prison sentence was three years, during which I had gotten clean. That’s when I really started focusing on my relationship with the Lord. Becoming a Christian is one thing, walking it out seems like it’s a whole other thing.. Since coming to Visalia Rescue Mission I am free, in more ways than one. God can work and do things anywhere and this place is great because it offers you an opportunity. They offer you hope through life with God and that’s the best thing you can offer someone - hope in life, you know?”

“I didn’t come here for the word of God, I came to get clean and sober, and in the midst of that process God found me.”

“My family seems proud of me and they are starting to trust me again. I’m staying connected to the mission through an apprenticeship. I think staying connected here will help keep me accountable. I wouldn’t have traded another program for the mission. So many lives are being affected by the mission.”

Annette entered our Life Change Academy, where Bible studies, chapel services and Christian counseling led her to an encounter with Christ. “I never knew I could have a relationship with Jesus until I came here. I dug in and got my feet planted in Him,” she says. “Now I have a whole different mind and heart.”

“I really wish more people knew about this place. At the House of Hope, it is the best feeling of love and acceptance. I never felt a unity like this before.”

“I have a broader outlook on how real God’s love for me is. He has always been there, even when I felt separated from him, and he never left my side. I read about him and get to know him more every night. A lot of the conversation around the mission is about what God is doing in our hearts, in our lives and in our family’s lives. I really believe if I had not come to the mission, I would be in trouble with the law, and I wouldn’t have found the fulfilling joy of the Lord.”